JOINT RESEARCH PROJECT AUTOPLAN

Abstract

The paper introduces the joint research project AutoPlan, which was started by UZMAR, OES, FRIENDSHIP SYSTEMS, Technical University Berlin (TUB) and SVA Potsdam, under the MarTera (Horizon 2020) program. The goal of this project is the improvement of the safety and efficiency of planing crafts, by developing an Intelligent Navigation Assistance (INA) System. In the scope of the project, a new prototype vessel is going to be developed and built, based on an initial design provided by UZMAR (Turkey). This design will be parametrically modelled by FRIENDSHIP SYSTEMS (Germany) in order to optimize the efficiency, providing a state-of-the-art fuel saving design. The required simulation tools will be provided by the Technical University Berlin (Germany), which will also carry out a validation of the optimization results with model tests. In addition, TUB will develop a method to reliably predict the manoeuvring and instability behaviour of the planing crafts. The method will require virtual captive model tests, carried out with a RANS code, especially enhanced for this purpose. Based on these tests, a mathematical model will be developed, which takes into account all six degrees of freedom, allowing not only the prediction of rudder manoeuvres at planing condition, but also the assessment of certain types of instabilities.The method will also be experimentally validated with numerous model tests, which requires a novel experimental technique, that will be developed and installed at TUB. These mathematical models are then used by OES (Turkey), who will develop the INA system, which will support the decision making in navigation in order to avoid dynamic instabilities, like for example transversal instability or porpoising. At the end of the project, UZMAR will build a full scale prototype with an integrated INA system to prove the capabilities in practice. The full scale measurements will be carried out by SVA Potsdam (Germany) and TUB and include the measurement of all ship motions as well as the thrust. The project and first results of modelling and simulation will be presented.